Sustained growth for KB Home

US homebuilder KB Home is building on a strong start to the year, as its second quarter results up to May 31, 2014 show an increase of +8% on revenue to US$ 565 million, compared to US$ 524 million for the same period in 2013.

Half-year results also up to May 31, 2014, show that revenue for the first six months has grown by +9% to top US$ 1 billion, up from US$ 930 million a year earlier.

The number of houses delivered in the second quarter remained comparable with 2013 figures, with 1,751 homes delivered in Q2 2014 down marginally from 1,797 in 2013.

For the first six months, the drop in houses delivered shows a similar story, with the first half of 2014 seeing 3,193 homes delivered, down -3% on 2013’s figure of 3,282.

However, potential future housing revenues in backlog at May 31, 2014 grew +24% to US$ 1.03 billion from US$ 826.6 million at May 31, 2013, reflecting an increase in the number of homes in backlog and a higher average selling price.

The company's quarter-end backlog value exceeded US$ 1 billion for the first time since August 31, 2008.

"Reflecting the strong operational foundation we have established through the effective execution of our core strategies, we extended our trend of generating solid earnings improvement in the second quarter, and remain focused on accelerating profitable growth," said Jeffrey Mezger, president and chief executive officer.

"We have produced year-over-year revenue increases for eleven straight quarters and operating income improvement for ten consecutive quarters. With the momentum we have generated through the first half of the year and our robust backlog, we believe we are on track to meet our fiscal 2014 goals."